Takito Grill becomes latest restaurant casualty at Des Plaines’ Metropolitan Square

Another restaurant in Des Plaines' Metropolitan Square complex has gone under.

This time it's Takito Grill, which offered Tex-Mex food at 1472 Market St.

The restaurant’s phone number has been disconnected, and its once-active Facebook page hasn’t been updated since mid-March.

Outside the restaurant, tables and chairs still occupy a patio. More tables and chairs are set up inside the dark building.

Legal documents affixed to a front door indicate the company that owns the complex, Metro Des Plaines Development, has sued Takito Grill’s parent company, Maya, and entrepreneur Raed Kammo. The lease for the property was terminated earlier this month and the tenants were ordered to vacate the premises without removing any kitchen appliances, the documents indicate.

The next hearing in the lawsuit over the property is scheduled for April 6 at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago, court records indicate.

Standing near Miner Street and South River Road, Metropolitan Square has struggled to attract and keep commercial tenants since it was built about 20 years ago. In addition to the retail spaces, it contains condominiums and a parking garage.

Restaurants especially have had a tough time at Metropolitan Square. Takito Grill had been open less than a year, a city spokesperson said.

It formerly had been At 7 Bar and Grill. The name of that tenant still is visible on a black awning to the right of the front doors.

Before At 7, the storefront was occupied by Tap House Grill; before that, it was home to Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Panera Bread and Leona’s are among the other businesses that gave up on the complex. Last fall, the city agreed to purchase the long-vacant Leona’s building for $1.1 million to spur redevelopment.

“Metropolitan Square is a key piece of our downtown, and we’re going to keep working hard to make sure that we’re helping that development succeed,” Mayor Andrew Goczkowski said.

Some Metropolitan Square restaurants have stuck it out. A Giordano’s Italian restaurant and a Potbelly Sandwich Shop have been in the center for years; 5th Avenue Sushi operates there, too. Kow Korean BBQ recently opened in a corner storefront.

The center is anchored by a Shop & Save Market, the parent company of which recently purchased most of the commercial property within Metropolitan Square using the Metro Des Plaines Development name, Goczkowski revealed.

City officials have met with the new landlord and sound excited about the future.

“We know that they have some great things planned,” Goczkowski said.

The owners couldn’t be reached for comment.